WASHINGTON (Sputnik), Leandra Bernstein — The parties to the Minsk peace agreement expect all militants to come under the control of the Ukrainian government, German Member of Parliament Niels Annen told Sputnik on Monday.
“Our expectation that all military forces are brought under the control of the regular Ukrainian Army is clear, and we know pretty much that this has not been completely achieved,” Annen stated.
On Saturday, members of Ukraine’s ultra-nationalist Right Sector group took up arms against government police and private security guards in western Ukraine. A video of the confrontation, which left two people dead, shows Right Sector members firing a belt-fed machine gun at Ukrainian authorities.
In June 2015, members of Ukraine’s Security Services visited Washington, DC and alleged that all militias had come under the control of the regular armed forces.
The terms of the February 2015 Minsk peace agreement require the dismantlement of all illegal military groups.
Following the Maidan coup against the elected government of Viktor Yanukovich in February 2014, more than 70 irregular military units were established largely through private funding. Some militias, including the Right Sector, have refused to cooperate with the government of current President Petro Poroshenko.
In an effort to integrate the independent militias, Poroshenko appointed the head of Right Sector, Dmitry Yarosh, to advise the head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in April 2015.